Direction-indicating signal for automobiles



A. E. BELLER. DIRECTION mmcmme SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 12. 1919.

Patented Aug". 16,- 1921.

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ALBERT EUGENE Batten. or O DEN. UTAH.

DIRECTIONJNDICATING SIGNAL FOR AUTOMOBILES ea ners.

Application filed July 12,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT E. BELLER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Ogden, in the county of Weber and State of Utah, have made certain new and useful Improvements in Directionilndicating Sig nals for Automobiles, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to direction indicating signals for automobiles, and it has for an object the provision of a manually operable signal of simple, durable and efiicient construction, which is attachable to the cowl of an auto, so that the operator can readily manipulate the indicating arm to signal the direction in which the vehicle is about to turn.

' I will describe one form of signaling apparatus embodying mycinvention, and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims. I

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a View showing in side elevation an auto hood having applied thereto one form of signaling apparatus embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged detailed'view, partly in section, showing the operating mechanism forthe signal shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken on Fig. 4 is a diagrammatical view showing the circuits for controlling the lamp shown in Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts in each of the several views.

Referring specifically to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, H designates an automobile'hood, G the cowl thereof, and W the wind shield, which is mounted upon the cowl. 13 designates an angular base plate,which is secured to the cowl Cin the manner shown in Fig. '2. Secured to. the horizontal portionof'the base plate 13 is a casing '14:, in which is journaled the vertical portion of an L-shaped tubular shaft 15.

- The shaft 15 is locked within the casing 14 by a collar 16, which is locked to the shaft by means of a set screw 17. Thecollar 16 bears upon and is supported by a ring- 18, while the lower end of the shaft is provided with a stud 19, having an opening therein to receive a key 20. By this arrangement, unrestricted rotary movement of the shaft is permitted, at the same time the shaft 1s the vertical portion of the locking bolt 30, which Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Aug. 16- 1921 1919. Serial No. 310,306.

locked against vertical movement within the casing.-

As previously stated, the shaft 15 is tubular, and is as shown in Fig. 1, the horizontal portion thereof is adapted to slidably receive a tubular rod 21, such rod being locked in adjusted position bymeans of a set screw 22. The outer end ofthe rod-21 is provided with an electric lamp23, which is surrounded by a spherical transparent casing 24. The casing 24 carries a perforated disk 25, which is perforated so as to form the least possible resistance to the wind, and is preferably formed of metal, colored red to indicage danger. The casing 24L is also colored re The mechanism for manually actuating the indicating arm is clearly shown in Fig. 2, and in the present instance, comprises an actuating shaft 26, which is mounted for longitudinal movement on the base plate 13 by a sleeve bearing 27. Slidably mounted onthe inner end of the shaft 26 and keyed thereto is a beveled gear 28, which at all times meshes with a bevel gear 29, fixed to shaft 15. Fixed to the shaft 26 intermediate its ends, is a is dapted to be inserted into anyof the openings 31 formed in a locking plate 32. 4 The plate 32 is rigidly supported, upon the base plate 13, and closes the outerend of a tubular casing 33. Surrounding the shaft 26 within the casing 33 and interposed between the gear 28 and the plate 32'is a coiled retractile spring 34. This spring 36L bears upon a collar 35 formed. on

the gear 28, and as the latter is slidably I mountedupon the shaft 26, it will at all times remain in mesh with the gear-29, irrespectiveof the position of the shaft. To

prevent the shaft 26 from being withdrawn of the plate, 32, so that rotarymovement of the shaft 26 is prevented. To limit the movement of the indicating arm in one direction or the other, I provide a pair of abutment posts 39 disposed upon opposite sides of the shaft 26, and rigidly secured to the plate 13. These posts 39 are preferably provided with cushioning members 39 to prevent noise and distortion of the indicating arm as it is thrown'to either extreme position. To simplify the drawings I have only shown one of these posts.

Referring now to Fig. 4:, I have shown diagrammatically the means for controlling the lamp 23 to effect an illumination ofthe same when the indicating arm occupies either extreme position, and to illuminate the lamp at will when the indicating arm is in neutral position. To effect such control I provide a contact arm 3-8 which isfixed to the vertical portion of the shaft 1.5 so as to move with the same. In the normal position of the shaft 15, the contact arm 88 engages'a stationary contact 3'? supported on the inner side of the casing 14, such arm being flexible so as to permit of the unrestricted movement of the arm 38 during the shifting of the shaft 15 to any of its two extreme positions. This contact arm 37 is adapted to be supplied with current arbitrarily controlled by a switch e1. In either extreme position of the shaft 15, the contact arm 38 engages posts l0 fixed within the casing 14, as clearly shown in Fig. 2.

The operation of the entire apparatus is as follows: lVhen it is desired to move the indicating arm to the right or left from the neutral position, the shaft 26 is moved rearwardly so as to cause the locking'bolt 30 to disengage the locking plate 32. The shaft 26 is now released'and by turning'the same in either direction, a corresponding movement is imparted to the indicating arm, whereby the latter occupies one of its extreme positions to indicate that the vehicle is about to turn in one direction or the other. When the indicating arm is in one extreme position, the lamp 23 is illuminatedby the following circuit: from source of current 42 through wire L3, contact l0, arm 38, wire 4A, lamp 23, wire 4C5, back to source :of current. hen the indicating arm is in the other extreme position the lamp is illuminated by the following circuit: wires 4:3 and 46, contact lO, arm 38, wire 424:, lamp 23 and wire 45 back to source of current. 7

After the indicating arm has been moved to either of its extreme positions, the shaft 26 is moved forwardly so as to allow the locking bar 30 to again engage the locking plate 32, thereby causing the shaft to'become again locked. It is obvious that in order to'return the indicating arm to the neutral position, it is only necessary to move the shaft 26 to releasing position, whereupon it may be rotated to swing the indicating arm back to neutral position. If it is desired to illuminate the lamp 28 when the indicating arm is in the neutral position, the switch 41 is closed whereby the lamp is energized through the following circuit: from source of current .42, wire 47, switch tl, wire l8, stop 37, arm 88, through the lamp and back to the source of current.

Although I have herein described and shown only one form of signaling apparatus embodying my invention it is to be understood that various changes and modifications may be made herein without departing from the spirit of the invention and the-spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An auto signal, comprising an angular base plate adapted to be securedto the cowl of an auto, a casing on the plate,an L-shaped tubular shaft journaled in the casing and adapted to swing horizontally over the hood of an auto, an arm telescopically associated with said shaft, a'signa-l carried by the arm, means for actuating said shaft, comprising, a shaft mounted for longitudinal and rotary movement on said plate, a bevel gear keyed to the second shaft and capable of sliding movement thereon, a bevel gear fixed to the first shaft and meshing with the first gear, a locking plate on the base plate, a spring surrounding the'second shaft and engageable with the locking plate and with the first gear for biasing the latter into engagement with thesecond gear, abutment members on the plate for limiting the movement of the first shaft in-either'direction, and a locking arm fixed to the second shaft and normally engageable with the locking plate under the biasing action of said spring.

2. An auto signal comprising, a base plate, a casing on the base plate, an indicating arm comprising a tubular shaft journaled in the casing, and a tubular rod connected to the shaft, a lamp carried by the rod, an actuating shaft mounted on said plate for rotary and longitudinalmovements, a locking plate on the base plate, a locking bolt fixed to the actuating shaft, and means for operatively connecting said shaft-s, comprising a pair of gears biased into mesh.

3. An auto signal, comprising an indicat ing arm, said arm being capable of occupying an intermediate position, and two extreme positions, means for actuating said arm, comprising a pair of gears, an actuating shaft having a key and slot connection with one of the gears, whereby the shaft is operatively connected tothe gear for rotation therewith but is slidable through the same, and means normally acting to lock the shaft against rotary movement.

ALBERT EUGENE BELLER. 

